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The Cubs have alternated series wins and series losses all year, so it’s pretty much a given that they’ll take two of three from the Padres. Crap, did I just jinx it?

Ryan Dempster is getting fed up. With himself. “I’m sick and tired of this. I’m better than that. I’ve got to do a better job of giving the team a chance to win than that. I’ve got to do a better job of pitching than that…. It’s getting really old. I know they’re professional hitters on the other side and you have to tip your cap to them sometimes but when you throw the ball over the middle of the plate too much, you don’t tip your cap to anybody. You look in the mirror and do a better job.”

When I talk about Darwin Barney as a weak minor league hitter (and therefore, note that it’s not likely he can keep this up), I have forgotten that he did the Camp Colvin thing this offseason and packed on quite a bit of muscle. Does that, alone, transform a guy from a .270 minor league hitter to a .300 Major League hitter? No. But it could explain some of his early success, behind merely attributing it to luck. There’s no doubt that Barney is a likable guy, and the right guy for second base right now, though the Cubs need to find some at bats for Jeff Baker.

The Cubs would like Starlin Castro to keep working on his plate discipline, but Mike Quade isn’t too eager to change a good thing. “We’d still like to see him improve discipline-wise,” Quade said. “But not at the expense of what he’s doing. It’s a very fine line. I believe he’ll be even better if he learns to lay off some of those pitches, because balls out of the strike zone are not always going to be put in play hard. … And he’s such a young player, now maybe he never gets that and winds up being a fabulous hitter that has a long strike zone. We’ll see.”

The Cubs would like to make the Northwestern Wrigley game an annual thing, but it won’t happen until the field can be configured to properly accommodate a 100 yard football field. And that won’t happen until Wrigley is renovated. And that won’t happen until the Cubs get financing. And that won’t happen until the city/state get their heads out of their asses. Sorry, sorry. I know it’s a sensitive subject.

It must be difficult to write a blog about The Cubs without jinxing them.

http://SOI veryzer

The Cubs have been jinxing themselves for a century. I don’t think we have much say in it anymore.

Dave

Just don’t do a Schadenfreude: Ryan Franklin post, he might actually record a save.

Ace

Noted. Though there is a Schadenfreude post coming up.

pfk

I still look at this year as all about getting ready for next year. So, if Demp has reached the end of the line, which is possible as he has alot of miles on that arm, it is good to know that. All it means is that we need to account for that going into 2012. If Byrd’s no good in the 3 hole, that is good to know as we need someone who is good there. And, since we have an outfield glut, maybe he’s good trade bait (maybe packaged with someone else) to fill a need we have for 2012. If Pena performs, as expected, with a .220 average and eroding power, then we need to know that. If Cashner is going to have arm problems, we need to know that now because we’ll need someone else in the rotation. If Garza never pulls it together then we need to know now and not hold out false hope. And, this most assuredly would get Hendry fired. So, just before the trade deadline much of this will become evident. And, because retooling for 2012 goes up a notch at the deadline, we need to know if Hendry is the man to be making those decisions. I’m not as concerned about the won-lost record as I am about individual performances.

http://www.frenchrocks.net Ian James

I think you’re absolutely correct.

Willis

I’m afraid you are correct as well. I thought with the pitching this year could be some fun…but that has pretty much failed and the cubs are going to be mediocre yet again. I guess that’s better than sucking.

Butcher

2012 looks just as bleak as 2011. A whole lot of changes would have to be made between now and next season to be thought of as contenders. I’m afraid we have a whole lot of “rebuilding” years to look forward to…

Ace

Eh, not that bleak, depending on what happens at 1st.

Raymond Robert Koenig

I’m assuming Byrd, Fukudome and Pena won’t be back next season. Hopefully more. I’m not sure about the 2012 pitching staff.

Butcher

1B isn’t even close to our only issue.

Ace

Wow, that’s not at all what I said. I said things don’t necessarily look automatically bleak next year, depending on what happens with 1B (read: if the Cubs add Pujols or Fielder, I could see things looking NOT bleak).

Butcher

And my point remains. Adding Pujols or Fielder doesn’t even come close to addressing the laundry list of issues that will need to be addressed before things are looking NOT bleak.

Butcher

Oh…and when you start a response with “wow,” it reads like, “Holy shit, you moron — does your brain even know how to process the written word?”

Perhaps that was your intention.

Ace

The “wow” was because I was surprised you read my response in a way that, to me, was over the top – I was surprised because we know each other well, and I would think you would know by now that I’m not a total sunshine and lollipops type.

Also, it was because I was like, “Holy shit, you moron – does your brain even know how to process the written word?”

To the substance, we just disagree. Assuming normal progress of the rest of the team, if the Cubs add Pujols, 2012 is looking FAR from bleak. (2020, on the other hand…)

TWC

Wow, now I want to start all my replies with “wow”.

jstraw

There’s no right way to put a football field into Wrigley without…you know…moving a whole lot of bricks. Which bricks will go? The ones behind home plate or the ones in right field? Yeah…ya see the problem? The way that shit went down last year was an enormous embarrassment and if everyone thinks real hard…it will never be repeated. The Ricketts should act like last year’s game never happened.

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